This easy Pumpkin Cake has three layers of super moist, spiced pumpkin cake, made completely from scratch, frosted with a sweet cinnamon maple cream cheese icing!
An Easy and Delicious Pumpkin Layer Cake
This gorgeously stacked cake is the BEST PUMPKIN CAKE YOU WILL EVER EAT.
This is an old tried and true recipe — just read all the comments or photo reviews on pinterest.
This Pumpkin Cake is perfectly spiced, extra moist and coated in a sweet cream cheese frosting. It’s seriously the best!
But it’s been six years, so I figured it was time for a little tune up. We have some new photos and a recipe video!
I promise I haven’t changed a thing to the original recipe! This pumpkin cake is just as perfect as it always was.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Cake
There are a few important ingredients needed for this pumpkin cake recipe to be a success.
Like most pumpkin baking recipes, you want to use pure canned pumpkin puree — not pumpkin pie filling.
This pumpkin cake recipe uses an entire 15 oz can of pumpkin, so no worries about wasting or having any leftovers!!
Also, I like to use pumpkin pie spice as it’s a great combination of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice.
However, you can substitute it with plain cinnamon if that is what you have on hand.
Vegetable oil (or canola oil), combined with pumpkin, will keep the cake extra moist.
If you are against oil in cakes, you can substitute apple sauce in its’ place. However, know that the cake texture will be fluffier.
Crazy tips to keep this Pumpkin Cake moist:
- Bake this cake at 300°F
- Cool it in the freezer
Unlike traditional cakes, this pumpkin cake recipe is baked at 300°F.
Baking a cake at a lower temperature slows the rapidness of the leavening, which prevents a tall dome from forming on your cake.
It also keeps the cake extra moist since it doesn’t rise too much or too quickly.
Second, as soon as these cakes come out of the oven, pop them into the freezer.This helps to stop the cooking process much quicker and keep the cake moist.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
For the frosting, I added a quick cream cheese icing that is flavored with cinnamon, real maple syrup and vanilla extract.
Then you generously coat each thick layer with this cinnamon cream cheese frosting that is just so dang creamy.
When you put the cake all together, it is seriously the best pumpkin cake recipe EVER. I swear.
Pumpkin Cake Decoration
To create the swirls on the outside of the cake with the frosting, I use the round end of a rubber spatula and swirl it.
For the pumpkin patch/vine on the top of the cake, you need pumpkin candies, pumpkin seeds and fresh thyme.
Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds, top with a few sprigs of thyme and add on the pumpkin candies on top!
Can I make this pumpkin cake recipe into cupcakes?
YES! You can! It’s always a common question – can I make this recipe into cupcakes?? So I did it for you!
I love this cake so much that I have even made it into cupcakes: Pumpkin Maple Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting!
However, I will tell you, I personally love the layer dream cake just a little bit more. It stays moist and has the perfect amount of frosting to cake.
This Pumpkin Cake is one of my most popular pumpkin recipes ever. It is second only to my favorite Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins.
This Pumpkin Dream Cake has three big gorgeous layers of super moist pumpkin spiced cake, made completely from scratch.
Then we frost it with a sweet cinnamon maple cream cheese icing to create the BEST PUMPKIN CAKE EVER.
Everyone comes back and makes it year after year for their families and that is the greatest compliment I could ever receive.
I promise everyone is going to LOVE it and beg for the recipe!
The Best Pumpkin Cake Recipe
The Best Pumpkin Cake: three layers of super moist, spiced pumpkin cake, made completely from scratch, frosted with a sweet cinnamon maple cream cheese icing!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
- 12 oz (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease 3, 8-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Set aside. - In a large bowl/stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla, pumpkin and vegetable oil. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk.
- Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove pans from oven and place in freezer for 45 minutes to cool. (update: this step is optional, you can let the cake cool on the counter instead if you prefer.) - For the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing: In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth.
- Assemble the 3 layers with a thick layer of frosting in between each layer. Then apply a thin crumb coat* on the top and sides. Pop back in the freezer to harden the crumb coat for about 10 minutes.
- Apply one final thick and even layer around the outside of the cake. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
What is a crumb coat? A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting called that seals in stray crumbs before a second frosting layer is applied. Remember to chill the crumb coat before applying the second layer of frosting.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16 slicesServing Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 650Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 347mgCarbohydrates: 89gFiber: 1gSugar: 68gProtein: 9g
Here is the original photo for the Pumpkin Dream Cake! Just in case you came here from pinterest, this is the same recipe!
I updated the post in August 2018, but the recipe is still the exact same!
More Pumpkin Recipes!
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I am so looking forward to making this cake for a crowd and I would like to make it in a 9×13” pan. Has anyone done this? I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Yes, it will work! Will just need a little longer baking time!
What size are the cake pans you used.
3 8-inch cake pans. You could also use 9-inch cake pans, they will bake quicker though, so keep an eye on them!
AMAZING!! Such an easy quick cake-total hit at Thanksgiving this year! Thank you for sharing this recipe! Certainly making it again-not just a holiday cake ♥️
Wow, this cake turned out GREAT. My husband requested a pumpkin cake for his birthday and this was perfect. I opted to use applesauce instead of oil because I’ve had trouble keeping my cakes fluffy in the past, so anything that can help is great in my book. I also used oat milk instead of regular because he’s lactose intolerant. Can’t even tell. It stayed moist for days. He says he wants this every year now!
So glad he loved it! Tell him Happy Birthday!
A friend sent me this recipe and it sounds awesome. I don’t use vegetable oil. Can you tell me a replacement?
Thank you
Another mild oil of your choice or melted butter.
Just made the pumpkin cake last night and it’s good but because of the low temperature I had to leave it in over an hour. The problem with that was that I had walked away too near to the end of it being done and got busy doing something else so I’m going to make the cake with frosting for Thanksgiving and I will pay very close attention to the time. It’s a good cake recipe but you need to really pay close attention to it.
Can I make this into a Swiss roll style?
Hi Brianne! I’m sorry, that is a very different preparation of this cake and I have not tried it to be able to recommend it or not. Good luck!
My family had been craving pumpkin. Pumpkin like real pumpkin, not artificial flavoring. The man did this top the charts! I made this cake and OMG!! Amazing!!! The cream cheese frosting, not too sweet pairs perfectly with the super moist cake. Thank you so much for sharing.
Regards
Wristerr
I made this cake exactly as per the recipe with the cream cheese frosting for Thanksgiving this weekend. My family (14 of us kids included) is raving about it! They’ve said it’s better than pumpkin pie, and was the highlight of their Thanksgiving meal. Blown away!
Regards
Danish
The cake turned out absolutely amazing! The texture is so moist and the butter cream is yum! Thank you for sharing it ❤️
Hi! Just made this cake. My cakes did not rise as much as the picture shows. Hope it still turns out well. Any ideas what may have happened? Followed recipe exactly and watched the video. Thanks!
Ok so I hardly ever leave comments but I HAD to for this. THIS IS SO GOOD!!!!! OMG. I’m making it for a customer order and I don’t want to send it out the door. So so so good! Keeping this baby handy for all the pumpkin cake needs. THANKS!!!
So glad you enjoyed it Leanne!
Can you possibly give me the cooking temperature and time if I made a two-layer (9 inch) cake? I do not have 8 inch cake pans. I am new here, but have made a few of your recipes and LOVE THEM. Thanks!!
Hi Kathleen! I would start checking them with a toothpick around the 45 minute mark!
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Thanks for sharing With us, it is really delicious cake. So good.
I absolutely love this recipe and have made it several times, but I have never had enough batter to make those three huge layers. I suggest doubling the recipe if you want to replicate the photo.
Hi Barbara,
I love this cake too. I noticed no person answered in your comment so I will. A crumb coat is the first layer of frosting you placed on the pinnacle and sides of a cake. It commonly is very skinny and it prevents the crumbs from the cake moving into the very last layer (2d layer) of frosting you placed on the cake. That manner no crumbs will appear for your frosting while the cake is finished. Good luck!
I made this cake for a birthday party and it was a huge success! I was astonished at how much people like what by looking at ingredients may seem like a pretty simple cake. This cake is seriously delicious! The first time I made it was for the first Thanksgiving I spent with my husband’s family, and I’ve been making it ever since for the past 5 years.